don't, because then they would haveputnancypelosiincharge of the house of representatives. >> david, do you buy that? democrats gain in both the house and the senate. the president won the popular vote, well over 300 electoral votes and by big majorities, they told exit pollsters they agree with the president's position on tax policy. >> well, whether the president has a mandate is a matter of opinion. whether he has power is a matter of fact. this president now has enormous power, because of the expiring of all these various tax measures and because of the advent of the sequester. he's in a situation where he's in a doomsday contest with the republicans, but the doomsday bites republican constituencies harder than those of democrats and of course, the president doesn't have to face re-election so even if doomsday arrives he has less to fear from it than the republicans do. so he's in a very powerful position. and republicans are going to have to be very savvy about how they play this. to go back to your original question, about why -- what was the cause of the defeat, we'